These four areas are under one name because they were all once ruled by the French. Chandannagar, the fifth former French colony 30 kilometers north of Kolkata, in West Bengal, India, is now outside this unconnected territory.

When India took control of them, they took them in as one territory. Pondicherry is going through a name change to Puduchery, which means "new village" in the local language. It covers an area of 183 mi² or 474 km², it is bigger than Andorra but smaller than Saint Lucia.